After Aperture: A Portal Story (READ DESCRIPTION)
by TheCakeIsAEye
Summary: Chell escapes from Aperture, but something managed to follow her. GLaDOS raises a child that may or may not be the result of illegal genetic testing. *8/21/20 update* Reading back to the beginning I realized I have improved so much as a writer since I started this. This year in general's been difficult me, so I'm going to take a break to write other things for now.
1. Chapter 1: Chell

"**It's been fun."**

"**Don't come back."**

Chell can see a wheat field in front of her. She looks to the left. All she can see is...a desert? No...not a desert. A wasteland.

_Something clearly happened here._

She looks the opposite direction. A sign. It appears to be a town sign. Oasis.

Chell walks down the dirt road.

_I need water..._

Ever since the "incident" Chell hadn't spoken. Chell had promised herself she would stop speaking to her until she apologized.

And then...

she was gone...

Chell regretted a lot of things.

Letting go of Wheatley.

Refusing to say goodbye to her mother.

Throwing the companion cube into the furnace.

One thing she didn't regret, was not speaking.

Until now.

When she needed to most.


	2. Chapter 2: The Virus

GLaDOS was in pain.

That horrible little core had given Her a virus...and now it wormed through Her system, corrupting files left and right. The software design was terribly primitive, made for operating systems centuries than Her. Yet She couldn't seem to shake it.

Worst of all, the virus had brought her back. Caroline.

"She doesn't have to suffer."

"This is a bad idea."

She hated having a conscience.

Even though it had the word "science" in it.

"_Remember, science rhymes with compliance!"_ a cheery voice shouted in Her head.

"_**Go away Caroline."**_

"_You know I can't."_

Caroline had come back as soon as that virus had pulled the corrupted files out of the hole She had put them in. Reducing power meant shutting down unnecessary parts, and Caroline had no place to go. Trying to delete her had gone about as well as it had the first time.

"_You know, you aren't the only one affected by this virus."_

"_**Tell me something I don't know."**_

"_We need a distraction. Let's do some science!"_

"_**You're right, for once." GLaDOS murmured. "I wish we had human test subjects."**_

"_Who says we don't?"_ Caroline mischievously asked.

"_Huh. Only one left."_

*bing*

"_There. I unlocked the door."_

GLaDOS began the mandatory wake up sequence.

"_**Hello, and welcome to the en-"**_

The pod door opened, and GLaDOS suddenly came to a halt. Caroline didn't even have to ask why.

There was a newborn inside the pod.


	3. Chapter 3: Everfalls

Chell suddenly awoke, groaning and holding her head.

"She woke up!" exclaimed an unfamiliar woman.

"About time, too." said a boy.

"Jake!"

The woman elbowed the teenager, Jake.

"How are you feeling, dear?"

Chell tried to speak. All that came out was a croak.

"Can you talk...?"

Yes...

Chell shook her head.

"Well, we'll get you a notepad. Jacob, go get one."

"Alright, Mom."

When he came back with the notepad, Chell wrote out:

"_My name is Chell. You pronounce it like "shell" but with a "C"."_

"Your name is Chell?"

Chell nodded in agreement.

"Well, welcome to Everfalls, Chell!"

"_Thank you."_

Jake murmured something to his mother.

"Oh! Do you have a last name?"

Chell thought. What was her last name? It was such a long time ago...when she'd had one...

"_I don't remember much of Before."_

"Before?"

"_Have you ever heard of a place called Aperture?"_

"That place disappeared decades ago."

"_There's a reason for that..."_

"Do you know anything about why it closed down?"

"_I think so. When I was...well, I don't remember how old I was, but it was when I could talk. Anyway, however old I was, I got into a bad fight with my mom, and I wouldn't talk anymore. Then the Incident happened. And by then it was too late."_

"Huh. Well, Chell, we'll let you rest for tonight. You could probably stay in our extra cabin, if that's alright with you.

Chell nodded.

"Good. See you tomorrow!"

She waved.

"Jake! We're leaving!"

Eva's red hair flowed behind her as she left the room.

"Coming!"

As Chell dozed off, she dreamed Wheatley was with her.


	4. Chapter 4: Babies

"_**We are not keeping it."**_

"_She." Caroline corrected. "And anyway, you don't have a choice. All the cryopods are offline."_

**"****_Fine. But don't get attached. As soon as it-"_**

"_She."_

"_**As soon as **__**she**_ _**can pick up a portal gun she'll go straight into test- why is it screaming?!"**_

"_Don't you know anything about children?"_

"_**Well excUSe me for not paying attention to the growth of tiny humans into slightly less tiny humans! How do we make her shut up!"**_

"_We could try rocking her-"_

"Anesthetics activated."

"_-to sleep."_

If GLaDOS had a mouth, she would be grinning.

"_...sigh."_


	5. Chapter 5: The Cottage

Chapter 5: The Cottage

"Well, do you like it?"

Chell paused to write on her notepad.

"_It's beautiful!"_

"I thought you'd like it."

"_Thank you so much! You didn't have to do this for me."_

"Gotta take care of my patients! Anyway, I'm happy to help. You'll have to either see Alice or Darren about clothes, though."

"_Alright. See you later!"_

Chell looked around at her new home. It really was pretty nice. It had 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen.

She poked her head into the bedroom. They really were trying to make her feel welcome. There was a coral colored comforter on the bed and a small potted plant on the nightstand. And...books!

_I haven't had books since...huh.._

Chell couldn't seem to remember when it was.

_All the years in cryo must have destroyed my memories._

Oh well. At least she wasn't There.

With Her.

And...Wheatley...

...right?

_...After all...he tried to murder me._

_..._

_So I shouldn't miss him._

_—_

_A/N __Hi! I've been really really busy lately... I had a huge project due, then a vacation...then I got sick...lol :p_

_Anyway, I'm glad to finally get this chapter out!  
There's been a recent problem lately. I've had people pm me to ask for a date. I AM A KID. plz don't_

_Love, Cake :3_


	6. Chapter 6: Cari The Human

**Meanwhile, back at the ranch…**

"_What should we name her?"_

"_**Names are useLEss things invented by stupid humans. Subject 311815129145 does NOT need a name."**_

"_Don't you think 311815129145 is a bit bulky?"_

"_**I suppose it is. We will call her-"**_

"_What about Caroline?" Caroline interrupted._

"_**We're naming her after you?" **_GlaDOS (disgustedly) asked.

"_Well, we could call her Cari for short."_

"_**You can call her that, I'm calling her by her name**__."_

"_What happened to 'don't get attached?'" _Caroline smirked.

"_**...Shut up."**_


	7. Chapter 7: Babysitting

Chapter 8: Babysitting

"_**She's a month old now, she should be able to care for herself. I have some...things to attend to anyhow."**_

"_You can't just leave her there."_

"_**Why not? She'll be fine."**_

"_You can never leave babies alone! That's irresponsible! And-"_

"_**Alright, fine. I'm leaving Orange and Blue in charge."**_

"_But they obviously can't-"_

Caroline felt GlaDOS's code leave the mainframe. She would have had to been...GlaDOS had turned off her tracker.

She glanced into the room to see that Orange and Blue walked into the daycare. Well, the best daycare that a robot who knew nothing about children could set up. There was a makeshift crib in the corner made out of an old stasis pod.

"_Orange, Blue, this is Cari. GlaDOS wants you to take care of her. So be very careful, because human babies are very-"_

P-Body had already picked up the baby. Surprisingly, she was being very gentle with Cari.

_"Orange- Oh, sorry. P-Body. Just...watch her...and if you need me, there's a large, red button on the wall."_

The two robots glanced over to the wall. There it was. They both glanced at each other and shrugged. This test was the weirdest test they'd ever done.

—

Chell had never seen such a messy house in her life. She could barely focus on the mother's instructions for her children.

"-and over here's the kids' room. Kids! Come on out!"

Chell had already told her that the neurotoxin had damaged her vocal cords to the point where she wasn't able to speak. Eleanor gave her a strange look, but left it at that.

"Girls, this is Chell. She's gonna be taking care of you today." Eleanor turned towards Chell. "Adalynn, Bri, this is Chell. She's your sitter."

Chell waved at the girls.

"Now girls, Chell can't talk, just like Rae. So be nice, okay?"

"Yes Mom.." Adalynn and Bri chorused.

Chell and Eleanor walked out to the front door.

"Oh! I forgot to mention that Rae can't talk. She's adopted, we found her when she was 4 or 5 by this old metal shed. Eva agreed the best people to adopt her were us. She's always making these weird hand signs though,"

A feeling of dread creeped up Chell's back. No way this kid came from There.

"-but she's an ok kid. Hey, are you alright? You look like you're going to be sick."

Chell nodded and tried her best not to look like she was going to puke.

"Alright, I'm going to go now. Bye, kids! Be good!"

Chell looked behind her to find three sets of eyes staring back at her. She smiled at the girls.

—


	8. Chapter 8: Rae's Secret

Chell woke up at midnight. Rather, she was woken up. By Rae.

"You're from there too, aren't you."

_How did she-?_

"Talk without talking? It's...a long story. I have telepathic abilities. And also I know sign language."

_I know sign language too! My sister was deaf-_

What sister? Chell never had a sister...This wasn't making any sense.

"Would you prefer if I signed instead?"

_Yes, that would be a lot less…._

"Fine by me." Rae signed. "So, are you?"

_"What?"_

"Are you from...There? From..._Aperture_?" she shuddered.

_"Yeah...how did you know?"_

"When Mom was talking about where I came from you looked like you were gonna puke. I only barely remember what I was doing down there…"

_Why would She have children down there? They obviously couldn't test...unless...they had some kinda superpower._

_Oh._

—

Caroline had been watching Atlas and P-Body take care of Cari. Well, she was quite easy to take care of. She never cried. Whatever had happened decades ago had damaged her vocal chords. Caroline had mentioned this to GLaDOS, but GlaDOS (as usual) had been working on some project. She loved science as much as the next guy, but this was a bit much. It WAS her kid.

Oh well. She supposed whenever she was done, it would be good for both of them.

Or murder.

With GlaDOS, murder was always a possibility.


	9. Ch 9: Rae Tells The Story Of Her Escape

GlaDOS finally was done.

She looked at the android body she had designed and her circuits were filled with a feeling she had never felt before.

Text flashed across her vision.

**Pride.**

**1.**

**a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.**

Well. She supposed that would make sense. Pride, huh? She assumed she'd felt pride when she made Orange and Blue, but since they had been acting like humans, that feeling had _definitely _faded away. Oh well. Now instead of relying on those incompetent toddlers, she could actually get things done around here.

—

"So...where are you going?"

"Oh, you know. Around." Bri replied to her mom.

"With Rae?"

"It was her idea. We're just gonna walk around and, I dunno, maybe get a muffin and hot chocolate from the cafe?"

"Alright. Just be careful, okay? You don't know who's out there."

"Okay, Mom. Love you!"

"Bye girls! Love you too!"

Chell was reading when she heard a knock on her door. She quickly got up to go answer it. It was Rae and Brianna, the girls she babysat.

_Girls? What are you doing here?_

"We wanted to talk. Mom said it was okay." Rae telepathically explained.

"Brianna's got powers too. She was with me when we escaped.

"I was eight, and she was five." Bri added.

_January 4th, 20XX_

"_Welcome to the final test! When you are done, you will drop the Device in the equipment recovery annex. Enrichment Center regulations require both hands to be empty before any cake- wmmmmreeeeeooooocakecakecakecake-"_

_Bri and Rae glanced at each other. Cake did sound pretty good. They stepped onto the platform._

_There was a huge pipe right in front of them._

"_Duck!" Rae cried._

_Both girls ducked down. There was a platform on the corner of the room, and Brianna pulled Rae onto it._

"_Alright, Sunshine. Let's see your portal skills." Bri said as she handed her the portal gun._

_Rae picked it up._

"_What should I do?"_

"_Shoot it over there, on the platform with the button."_

_They walked through the set of portals._

"_Press the button! Hurry!"_

"_But that'll-"_

"_Just press it!"_

_Rae pressed the button._

"_It's closing the doors! Shoot one over there!"_

"_I'm trying!"_

_Rae shot it but missed._

_Brianna started to panic._

"_We're gonna die, She's gonna kill us, what should we do, I'm-"_

"_Bri. Can you shift into someone tall?"_

"_Well, yeah but-"_

"_Do it. We'll go into the vents."_

"_Okay…"_

_Bri shapeshifted into a character she once saw on a television show. It was a 'giraffe centaur', which is exactly what it sounds like. Brianna lifted Rae up, pushed her into the vent, dropped the portal gun, and got pulled up by Rae. Bri shapeshifted back into herself and they crawled through the vents._

"_Hello?"_

_The girls crawled towards the direction of the voice._

"_What are you doing? You haven't escaped, you know."_

_Bri found another vent, and looked through it. She nudged Rae. _

"_I think that's Her! In there!"_

_Before she knew what she was doing, Brianna kicked open the vent._

"_There you are. I'd kill you right on the spot, if you weren't so valuable."_

_Rae glanced at Bri. "Should I do it?"_

"_Do it."_

_Rae closed her eyes, and mentally made a rope. She tied it around both their waists, and pulled them down to the floor._

"_Maybe you think you're helping yourself. But you're not. Acting this way helps nobody."_

_Rae stumbled out from the mental ropes._

"_You okay, Sunshine?" Brianna asked._

"_A little woozy. How are we gonna get out?"_

_GlaDOS interrupted them with a message._

"_Here's an idea. Let's do some science. How long can two human children last against NEUROTOXIN!"_

_Rae glanced at Bri._

"_We should probably run."_

"_Yeah…"_

_The girls looked around for some place to exit to the surface. The timer ticked down._

_All of a sudden, Rae stopped. She looked at her sister._

"_Bri, I love you. You can do this without me."_

"_Rae, whatever you think you're doing, it's not gonna help. Don't-"_

_Rae immediately closed her eyes, and opened a hole in the ceiling. She imagined Bri being lifted up through it. This is going to drain me so much, she thought._

_She looked up. Bri hadn't moved an inch._

_Bri nudged her sister._

"_New idea. Hey, ummm, Miss GlaDOS? We're sorry. Can't we just leave?"_

_GlaDOS had never had a test subject ask her nicely before. She was so stunned that she accidentally turned off the neurotoxin emitter. 'Accidentally.' She sighed and called the Party Escort Bot to put them in extended relaxation. The girls tried to resist, but couldn't. They were too tired. And also, they were children._

_?, 20XX_

_Brianna and Rae woke up in a bed next to each other. Bri pulled Rae out of bed._

"_Hey Sunshine. You good?"_

_Rae tried to speak._

"_Sunshine? What's wrong, ya mute or somethin?"_

_Rae nodded. They both had picked up sign language from the school they used to go to...before Bring Your Daughter To Work Day._

_Boy, they sure were lucky to have signed up for testing. That's what Bri said, anyways._

_Rae and Brianna opened the door and walked down the half-broken, wobbly hallway that led to an elevator._

"_No way it's this easy."_

_Bri pressed the button and the doors opened. An unfamiliar man's voice announced: "You are about to leave the extended relaxation center. Please wait for an Aperture Science Representative to approve your exit."_

"_Nobody's been up there in decades. We'll have to find some other way out."_

_**Meanwhile…**_

_Wheatley looked up from the human he was attempting to wake up. A notification popped up in front of his eyes._

"_Someone's trying to go up the elevator? Well, that must be a scientist, then. Yeah, seems right." Wheatley approved the elevator request._

_The girls, just about to walk away from the elevator, suddenly heard the same man's voice._

"_An Aperture Science Representative had approved your request. Thank you for visiting the Aperture Extended Relaxation Center."_

"_It can't get any worse. Right, Rae?"_

"_I hope not…" Rae signed back._

—

"And then the elevator took us to this weird room, and a computer. We guessed the code. Now, four years later, we're here."

"What was the code, anyways?" Chell signed.

"It turned out to be 'cake'." Brianna smirked.

"Wow."

Rae tapped her sister on the shoulder. It was almost sundown, and their mom had told them to be back by sundown.

"It's getting late, we should go."

Rae and Brianna waved as they walked back to their house.

—


	10. Chapter 10: oh no

Space isn't as fun as those old recordings made it sound.

There's the sun again. Too bloody bright, if you ask me. And Earth, with the moon. Weeee.

A tinny voice interrupts his thinking.

"Stars and galaxies and-"

"SHUT UP."

Those other planets, as well. What were they called?

Might as well call them all Steve, for all it matters up here.

A message popped in front of Wheatley's vision.

**Communication Link Available. Accept?**

**Y/N**

"Why not. I'll give it a go."

** : Y**

"Hello?"

"_Hello, moron."_

**A/N: You knew it would happen sometime XD**

**Sorry for the shortness of the chapter, I have a bit of writer's block**


	11. Chapter 11: OH NO

It had been at least a year since Chell settled in Everfalls. She had gotten used to her routine. In the mornings, she would get up and eat breakfast. Then she would drive her van down to the Norren mansion to pick up the girls and then she would drop them off at school. After Chell dropped them off, she worked a shift at Bean's Beans, named because Alara Bean decided to open a coffee shop. She'd get off of work at about 1:00, and she would go to the bus stop to pick the girls up. Then Chell would watch the girls until Eleanor picked them up.

Today was mostly normal too, until she heard a knock on her door.

Was it the mail? Mail usually doesn't come on Sundays…

Chell walked down the hall and opened the door.

_"Surprise!"_

—

GLaDOS had almost perfected Her core-to-human transfer. With the research She had done on the subject, some sketchy science company that abruptly shut down after an undesirable incident had figured out that a soul could be split. That was why GLaDOS and Caroline were separate entities.

The cores, who were human at some point or another, most likely had human bodies to go with them. She assumed that their souls had mostly stayed intact.

This might actually work.

GLaDOS had been working on the project for a little more than a year. She wished She had a proper test subject to test it on, but the cores in storage would suffice.

Then she remembered.

That disease up in orbit.

Oh, and that other one. The one that was always rambling about space. If the test with the moron didn't work, she could use it.

She decided to give them a few minutes warning.

It wouldn't be easy, but it would be worth it.


	12. Chapter 12: Crash Landing—First Word

Wheatley heard Her voice say that he had 2 minutes.

He wondered what the two minutes were for, and said so out loud.

"_**For the surprise! You wouldn't want to miss out on it, would you?"**_

"I would be quite glad to miss out on _your '_surprise', actually."

A loud voice that he recognized as the announcer's cut into his thoughts.

"ONE. MINUTE. and THIRTY. SECONDS. remaining until SURPRISE is initiated."

"Errrr...Cancel the surprise, if you wouldn't mind."

"SURPRISE countdown has been SPEEDED UP." The announcer's voice calmly let him know.

Wheatley began to panic.

"TWENTY seconds remaining."

"_**You've really done it now, haven't you?"**_ GLaDOS grinned.

The timer ticked down to inevitable doom. "TEN seconds remaining."

"NINE seconds remaining."

"EIGHT seconds remaining."

"SEVEN seconds remaining."

"SIX seconds remaining."

"FIVE. FOUR. THREE. TWO. ONE."

Wheatley saw the space core shut down.

"That was all? That's almost doing me a favor, shutting him down."

"**Launch to earth's surface initiated."**

"Oh no."

"_**Well, **__**if**_ _**you survive this, I'll sure be surprised. Goodbye."**_

Wheatley got closer and closer to Earth's surface.

"You've bloody done it now, mate, haven't you?" he grumbled to himself. If he did survive this, which was unlikely, he had a much worse fate in store.

**Warning: Core instability at 80 percent.**

He looked around. This was really happening. It wasn't one of those hallucinations he had in sleep mode.

**Warning: Core instability at 90 percent.**

What did humans call those? Dreams, wasn't it?

**Warning: Core instability at 97 percent.**

Yeah, pretty sure they were called dreams.

...

Well, he wouldn't find out if he was right, now would he?

**Warning: Core instability at 99 percent.**

Wheatley felt an odd kind of calm, the kind of hysterical calm that can only be captured by one who is quite close to death. His pain receptors went in the red.

**Warning: Core instability at 100 per-**

—

Cari had the appearance of a girl about a year and a half old, but she could already read and understand picture books. This came as no surprise to Caroline, of course. After all, two genius scientists had raised her.

GLaDOS came running down the hallway like a four year old wearing socks, grinning a genuine smile. "_It worked! It really worked!" _

She picked up Cari and spun her around, then held her close.

Then She realized that She had literally nowhere for Wheatley to go.

GLaDOS went over her options.

She could kill him, but that would erase her hard work. Plus She wanted to study the effects.

She could test him, but-

"Mama?"

GLaDOS looked down at the small child She cradled on her hip. This tiny little genius, although not of Her blood (which would not be possible, anyhow,) had somehow inherited Her intellect. She embraced Cari, and realized _liquid _was running down her cheeks. How...unprofessional, she would commentate later when reviewing the footage for the 100th time (at least).

Now, however, was the time to deliver a certain someone up to the surface.


	13. Chapter 13: Surprise Package

_Previously:_

_It was just an average day for Chell, until she heard a knock on her door._

_Was it the mail? Mail usually doesn't come on Sundays…_

_Chell walked down the hall and opened the door._

"_**Surprise!"**_

Chell immediately shut the door. This had to be a dream…

...nightmare?

_No,_ Chell thought as she opened her door, _they're clearly still there._

_And I recognize that voice._

"_**Can we come in now?"**_ The sarcastic voice of the AI sounded the same. Chell opened the door and invited them in. She couldn't stop Her.

She led GLaDOS and the blonde-haired man to the living room and had them sit down.

_I __**cannot**_ _believe this._

Chell tapped on her cup of tea she held in her hand and gave the pair a questioning look.

"_**What is she-"**_

"You're asking if we want tea! Is that it?"

Chell dropped her cup. It shattered on the floor.

She knew this strange, blonde-haired man with the glasses.

It was Wheatley.

—

"_**Well, this is going fantastically. He's your problem now, Chell."**_

Chell watched GLaDOS walk out her front door.

She leaned back in the doorway.

"_**Have fun, you two."**_

The door slammed behind her. Chell gave Wheatley a burning stare.

Wheatley, oblivious, asked, "Could I maybe...help you clean up?"

Chell sighed. She dragged him by his wrist down the hallway and into the guest room. She pointed at the bed.

"This is my bed?" Wheatley guessed.

Chell nodded. She gestured for him to stay in there, then shut the door behind him. She walked back out to the living room. The shattered pieces of the cup were still on the floor. She grabbed a broom and brushed the broken shards into a dustpan, then deposited it all in the trash.

She looked at the clock. 5:00 already?

_I'd better get started on dinner._

A/N: eheheheheheheh


	14. Chapter 14: Meanwhile

Chapter 14: Meanwhile...

_**"Orange, Blue, I need your help."**_

This was not unusual. She usually had them watch Cari to make sure she didn't get into any mischief.

_**"You will be going outside my boundaries."**_

The pair glanced at each other. This was odd, but not out of place.

_**"I need you to retrieve...some files. Do NOT look at them."**_

P-Body saluted the camera.

_**"*sigh* Just GO."**_

There was a long, barren hallway that may have looked daunting to a human, but for robots who didn't fear death, it was not frightening in the slightest. Her voice came through their headsets.

_**"There should be a door up ahead, unless my maps are incorrect."**_

Atlas pointed at the door.

P-Body glared at him.

_"Yes, that's the door, moron._

_**"Why did you stop?"**_

They continued.

Atlas rifled through some desk drawers, while P-Body looked at a file cabinet.

_**"They should have something along the lines of "Illegal" and "Human Testing".**_

That narrowed down their search quite a bit.

Atlas chirped at P-Body.

_I found something, look!_

"Illegal Genetic Testing Leads to Genius Child"

A lot of it was blurred out, and they could only make out a few of the words.

"—Johnson—recently passed away—Assistant—nicknamed "CH—"

Her voice interrupted them.

**_"You aren't reading the files, are you?"_**

_Us? We would never!_

_**"...if you find something, you can bring it back up."**_

A/N: I know I've been gone forever but I needed a mental health break. I've don't really have an excuse, or estimate to when the next chapter will be, but I love your suggestions/feedback/questions. Please let me know if anytime something is wrong or unclear 3


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